Title: Sustainable Cities
1Chapter 23
2(No Transcript)
3Core Case Study The Ecocity Concept in Curitiba,
Brazil
- 70 of Curitibas 2 million people use the bus
system. - Only high-rise apartments are allowed near bus
routes and devote the bottom 2 floors to stores. - Bike paths run through the city.
- Cars are banned from 49 blocks of the citys
downtown.
4Core Case Study The Ecocity Concept in Curitiba,
Brazil
- This bus system moves large numbers of passengers
based on its infrastructure - Express lanes for buses only.
- Double and triple length buses.
- Extra-wide doors for easy boarding.
Figure 23-1
5 City center
Route
Express
Interdistrict
Direct
Feeder
Workers
Fig. 23-1, p. 548
6Green Cities Vancouver, BC
7Green Architecture Oberlin College
8URBANIZATION AND URBAN GROWTH
- People move to cities because push factors
force them out of rural areas and pull factors
give them the hope of finding jobs and a better
life in the city. - Urban populations are growing rapidly and many
cities in developing countries have become
centers of poverty.
9Major Urban Areas of the World
- Satellite images of the earth at night showing
city lights. Currently, 49 of the worlds
population live in urban areas (2 of earths
land area).
Figure 23-2
10Recent Population Projections
11Case Study Urbanization in the U.S.
- 8 of 10 Americans live in Urban areas.
- About 48 of Americans live in consolidated
metropolitan areas (bottom map).
Figure 23-4
12Urban Sprawl
- When land is available and affordable, urban
areas tend to sprawl outward because - Federal government loan guarantees stimulated the
development of suburbs. - Low-cost gasoline and government funding of
highways encourages automobile use. - Tax-laws encourage home ownership.
- Most zoning laws separate residential and
commercial use of land. - Many urban areas lack proper planning.
13Urban Sprawl
- Urban sprawl in and around Las Vegas, Nevada
between 1973 and 2000.
Figure 23-5
14Animation SF Bay Region Growth
PLAY ANIMATION
15Urban Sprawl
- As they grow and sprawl outward, urban areas
merge to form megalopolis. - Bowash runs from Boston, Massachusetts to
Washington, D.C.
Figure 23-7
162007 Landmark in Urbanization
17 Natural Capital Degradation
Urban Sprawl
Land and Biodiversity
Human Health and Aesthetics
Water
Energy, Air, and Climate
Economic Effects
Increased runoff
Loss of cropland
Contaminated drinking water and air
Increased energy use waste
Higher taxes
Increased surface water groundwater pollution
Loss of forests and grasslands
Increased air pollution
Decline of downtown business districts
Increased use of surface water and groundwater
Loss of wetlands
Weight gain
Increased greenhouse gas emissions
Loss and fragmentation of wildlife habitats
Noise pollution
Decreased storage of surface water and groundwater
Increased unemployment in central city
Enhanced global warming
Sky illumination at night
Increased wildlife roadkill
Increased flooding
Warmer microclimate (urban heat island effect)
Loss of tax base in central city
Traffic congestion
Increased soil erosion
Decreased natural sewage treatment
Fig. 23-6, p. 553
18URBAN RESOURCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
- Urban areas can offer more job opportunities and
better education and health, and can help protect
biodiversity by concentrating people.
19URBAN RESOURCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
- Cities are rarely self-sustaining, can threaten
biodiversity, lack trees, concentrate pollutants
and noise, spread infectious diseases, and are
centers of poverty crime, and terrorism.
Figure 23-3
20URBAN RESOURCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
- Urban areas rarely are sustainable systems.
Figure 23-8
21 Inputs
Outputs
Energy
Solid wastes
Noise
Food
Waste heat
Water
Wealth
Raw materials
Air pollutants
Manufactured goods
Ideas
Water pollutants
Money
Manufactured goods
Information
Greenhouse gases
Fig. 23-8, p. 554
22URBAN RESOURCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
- Noise levels of some common sounds. Prolonged
exposure to lower noise levels and occasional
loud sounds can greatly increase internal stress.
Figure 23-9
23Urban Heat Islands
24Dust Domes
25URBAN RESOURCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
- Extreme poverty forces hundreds of millions of
people to live in slums and shantytowns where
adequate water supplies, sewage disposal, and
other services do not exist.
Figure 23-10
26Urban LDC Poverty
- Squatter Settlement The substandard,
poor-quality housing in this section of the city
of Port au Prince, Haiti
27How Would You Vote?
-
- Should squatters around cities of developing
countries be given title to land they live on? - a. No. No one has the right to steal and pollute
public or private lands. - b. Yes. The poor need homes.
28Chicagos Navy Pier
29TRANSPORTATION AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
- Land availability determines whether a city must
grow vertically or spread out horizontally and
whether it relies mostly on mass transit or the
automobile. - If Americans doubled their use of mass transit
from 5 to 10, this would reduce U.S. dependence
on oil by 40.
30TRANSPORTATION AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
- Motor vehicles provide personal benefits and
promote economic growth, but also kill and injure
many people, pollute the air, promote urban
sprawl, and result in traffic jams. - Although it would not be politically popular, we
could reduce reliance on automobiles by having
users pay for their harmful effects.
31Solutions Redesigning Urban Transport
- Alternatives include walking, bicycling, and
taking subways, trains, and buses.
32How Would You Vote?
- Should half the U.S. gasoline tax be used to
develop mass transit, bike lanes, and other
alternatives to the car? - a. No. Money needed to repair roads and bridges
should not be spent on bike paths and other
projects that few people would use. - b. Yes. Encouraging alternatives to personal
vehicles will decrease pollution and save energy.
33 Trade-Offs
Bicycles
Advantages
Disadvantages
Little protection in an accident
Affordable
Produce no pollution
Do not protect riders from bad weather
Quiet
Require little parking space
Not practical for trips longer than 8 kilometers
(5 miles)
Easy to maneuver in traffic
Take few resources to make
Can be tiring (except for electric bicycles)
Very energy efficient
Lack of secure bike parking
Provide exercise
Fig. 23-11, p. 560
34 Trade-Offs
Mass Transit Rail
Advantages
Disadvantages
More energy efficient than cars
Expensive to build and maintain
Produces less air pollution than cars
Cost-effective only along a densely populated
narrow corridor
Requires less land than roads and parking areas
for cars
Commits riders to transportation schedules
Causes fewer injuries and deaths than cars
Can cause noise and vibration for nearby residents
Reduces car congestion in cities
Fig. 23-12, p. 560
35 Trade-Offs
Buses
Advantages
Disadvantages
More flexible than rail system
Can lose money because they need low fares to
attract riders
Can be rerouted as needed
Often get caught in traffic unless operating in
express lanes
Cost less to develop and maintain than heavy-rail
system
Commits riders to transportation schedules
Can greatly reduce car use and pollution
Noisy
Fig. 23-13, p. 561
36 Trade-Offs
Rapid Rail
Advantages
Disadvantages
Can reduce travel by car or plane
Expensive to run and maintain
Ideal for trips of 2001,000 kilometers (120620
miles)
Must operate along heavily used routes to be
profitable
Much more energy efficient per rider over the
same distance than a car or plane
Causes noise and vibration for nearby residents
Fig. 23-14, p. 561
37Solutions Redesigning Urban Transport
- Potential routes for high-speed bullet trains in
the U.S and parts of Canada.
Figure 23-15
38Case Study Destroying a Great Mass Transit
System in the U.S.
- In the early 1900s, the U.S. had one of the
worlds best street car systems. - It was bought and destroyed by companies to sell
cars and buses. - At the same time, National City Lines worked to
convert electric-powered commuter locomotives to
diesel-powered ones.
39URBAN LAND-USE PLANNING AND CONTROL
- Most land-use planning in the U.S leads to poorly
controlled urban sprawl and fund this often
environmentally destructive process with property
taxes. - Smart growth can help control growth patterns
discourage urban sprawl, reduce car dependence,
and protect ecologically sensitive areas.
40 Solutions
Smart Growth Tools
- Limits and Regulations
- Limit building permits
- Urban growth boundaries
- Greenbelts around cities
- Public review of new development
- Protection
- Preserve existing open space
- Buy new open space
- Buy development rights that prohibit certain
types of development on land parcels
- Taxes
- Tax land, not buildings
- Tax land on value of actual use (such as forest
and agriculture) instead of highest value as
developed land
- Zoning
- Encourage mixed use
- Concentrate development along mass
transportation routes - Promote high-density cluster housing developments
- Tax Breaks
- For owners agreeing legally to not allow certain
types of development (conservation easements) - For cleaning up and developing abandoned urban
sites (brownfields)
- Planning
- Ecological land-use planning
- Environmental impact analysis
- Integrated regional planning
- State and national planning
- Revitalization New Growth
- Revitalize existing towns cities
- Build well-planned new towns and villages within
cities
Fig. 23-16, p. 563
41Case Study Land-Use Planning in Oregon
- Oregon has a comprehensive land-use planning
process - Permanently zone all rural land as forest,
agriculture, or urban land. - Draw an urban growth line around each community.
- Place control over land-use planning in State
hands.
42MAKING URBAN AREAS MORE SUSTAINABLE AND
DESIREABLE PLACES TO LIVE
- There is a growing movement to create mixed-use
villages and neighborhoods within urban areas
where people can live, work and shop close to
their homes.
43Cluster Development
- High density housing units are concentrated on
one portion of a parcel with the rest of the land
used for commonly shared open space.
Figure 23-17
44 Creek
Undeveloped land
Marsh
Fig. 23-17a, p. 565
45 Typical housing development
Fig. 23-17b, p. 565
46 Cluster
Cluster housing development
Creek
Cluster
Pond
Fig. 23-17c, p. 565
47Land-Use Patterns in Park City, UT
The next three photos are cropped from this photo.
48Mixed Use
49Single-Family
50Undeveloped Open Space
51The Ecocity Concept
- An ecocity allows people to walk, bike, or take
mass transit for most of their travel, and it
recycles and reuses most of its wastes, grows
much of its own food, and protects biodiversity
by preserving surrounding land.
52The Ecocity Concept
- Principles of sustainability
- Build cities for people not cars.
- Use renewable energy resources.
- Use solar-power living machines and wetlands for
waste water treatment. - Depend largely on recycled water.
- Use energy and matter efficiently.
- Prevent pollution and reduce waste.
- Reuse and recycle at least 60 of municipal solid
waste.
53The Ecocity Concept
- Protect biodiversity by preserving, protecting,
and restoring surrounding natural areas. - Promote urban gardens and farmers markets.
- Build communities that promote cultural and
economic diversity. - Use zoning and other tools to keep the human
population and environmentally sustainable
levels.